Elementary school students learn about recycling at Whitemarsh

WHITEMARSH — Students and teachers from both Colonial Elementary School and Whitemarsh Elementary School gathered in the Gymnasium at Whitemarsh Elementary for “Pay It Forward Day”.

Every Tuesday, the kindergarteners and life skills students gather at Whitemarsh to sort different types of trash into recyclables. The trash is gathered from lunch times at the Whitemarsh as well as bags brought in by parents and students. Wrappers, cans, bottles, and plastic bags are among the different items collected. They use the term Upcycling for utilizing every aspect of waste as value.

On Thursday, students gathered included two fifth grade classes from Colonial, life skills classes from both Elementary Schools, and kindergarten students from Whitemarsh.

During the event life skills students and kindergarteners had the opportunity to show off their leadership skills by teaching the fifth grade students about the program.

“My kids who are never given the chances to become leaders, get involved and help teach others,” said Stephanie Brennan.

They started the event by speaking about Upcycling and watching a video. The students were then broken into groups and taken to different stations. Stations included an area for sorting trash, packing it, creating signs to help with Upcycling awareness, and sorting cans and bottles.

All of the sorted recyclables are sent to Terracycle, a company based in New Jersey. Their goal is to convert hard to recycle materials into a wide variety of items and materials. Some of the Upcycling products they offer are duffel bags, lunch boxes, picture frames and even Christmas stockings. Terracycle offers $.02 for each item and Whitemarsh Elementary donates the money back to charity.